Non-Indigenous? Never Should You EVER Do These Things!

Hello, you super duper double delicious person, you. I was just going through my random index cards this morning because sometimes I write down an idea for a future video and I may or may not get to it. And I came across a list that I don't think I shared with you. And it's an important one. So what I wrote at the top was, and this is going out to the non indigenous viewers now that you know a little bit more about our shared history, Canadian history as it relates to Indigenous people, what do you think are some of the things that non Indigenous Canadians definitely shouldn't be doing? Something that's definitely going to get you that negative response unless you've already established a relationship and they know you're probably trustworthy. So thinking of the history, what are some things that are going to trigger a negative response? Let's talk about it. Hi, everybody. My name is Andy Bouget. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And as I said, I came across this list I've written down a while ago, non Indigenous Canadians knowing our shared history, what do you think are some of the things you shouldn't do? And I hope you took a second, maybe paused the video and came up with your list. Now we can compare what we wrote. So, and by the way, if you are want to be part of reconciliation, want to move your family, your community, your business entity, your nonprofit closer to reconciliation, these are the things you're not going to be doing in whatever form. So there's a little disclaimer or intro for you. The first one is, in any way, you would never be limiting or silencing our voices. So this can be anyone from telling us what we can and cannot speak on lim giving us a time limit on how long we can speak, a whole bunch of things, rephrasing it after we spoke, you know, like almost translating for us, like, don't do that. The reality is we have fought so long and so hard to have a voice and even more to be heard, to limit us in any way, that's just not going to be a good idea. So just putting that out there. Think twice before you ask the question. Don't limit the answer. It's called policing. Right? Don't tell us how much emotion we can use. Don't tell us, you know, not to speak so loudly like you're asking us about personal things. We don't do that segmentation. We don't take the people out of the History. So keep it in mind. That's number one. Okay. Number two, I hope you wrote down. I hope that based on Canadian history this was just a given for you. Never, never should you ever assume you know what we need. Or worse, never should you ever tell us what we need. And I actually speak to this a lot. When I'm working with a like for profit entity that wants sell to indigenous people. Humility works, right? Hang on. Sorry about that telephone interruption. I am running a business here. Right. So as I was saying, when I'm working with a company that is selling to indigenous people, Humility works. Ego burns bridges. They are the experts on their community. And even though in mainstream you're taught that you show up there and you're confident that you have the solution they need, that is not going to fly in most if not all First Nation communities. Instead it's more like. Okay, you know what? We. We heard through the grapevine that you're having this issue. We believe that we may have a product that can help you with that. Now you're the expert on your community. But I really think it'd be worth your while if we can have a conversation. We can tell you about our product and you can let us know if you think that's a good fit or not. That's going to get you in the door. So never ever, ever assume you know what we need. Or worse, tell us what we need. We don't need any more people trying to save us next. Never should you ever. I'm going to call this video that. Never should you ever tell us what to do at our events, on our land or in our work Again. Back away from the control. Because that's what we've been dealing with for so long. So you shouldn't tell us where we should hold our events. You think it should have been better in a different venue. They should have been doing this. Do not tell us what to do on our own lands. That is up to us. Maybe we don't want your highway going through our community. Maybe we don't want your mining development. That's up to us. And don't tell us how to do our work. We don't operate by the clock like mainstream. We don't do that control. We don't put our bodies at odds with our work. Just because it's different doesn't mean if you automatically assume your way is better. I hate to tell you this. That's called white supremacy. You don't want to be doing that. How you doing so far? Did I check off any boxes on your list. Number four. We got three more to go here. Don't ask us to do anything your way. Compromise meeting in the middle. Absolutely. Sure. But you know what? If you dictate how we need to do something, that's called assimilation. You don't want to be doing that either. You want us to do up a report on the meeting, we can do that. But you don't get to dictate the template. Right? Like if you were meeting with someone that you viewed as your equal, another business, corporation, whatever, you wouldn't do that. So don't do it to us because that shows you're talking down to us. You don't want to be doing that either. Go unpack that, then come back. Will be here next. Oh, this one. Never should you ever shorten our names because you think they're too hard to pronounce. You do realize we have a history of mainstream literally renaming us or assigning numbers like you saw in the history video, or giving us surnames because you didn't think it worked for your census when we only had one name. You changing our name is the epitome of white supremacy. Like why would you think you'd have the authority to do it? And if it's too hard to pronounce, practice. Have you ever seen some non indigenous names? Those are pretty wicked to pronounce too. We had to adapt to yours. If you're going to work with us, you can do some adapting too. So never should you ever shorten our names for any reason, especially because it's too hard to pronounce. And last but not least, holy moly's with the control. Never should you ever rush us. I work with so many people that get frustrated with first nations people or communities or entities because they don't get back to us in a timely fashion. Pray to your God that you're not dealing with the issues they are. Because I guarantee you if you're they're not getting back to you, it's because you're not at the top of the priority list. Maybe a suicide epidemic is. Maybe the poverty is taking its toll. Maybe it's violence in whatever forms. Look at what's happening in a First Nation communities and understand that maybe, just maybe, answering your email is not the highest priority today. Just saying. So there is a list of what you never should you ever do. Don't limit or silence our voices. Never assume you know what we need or tell us what we need. Do not tell us what to do at our events on our land or in our work. Don't ask us to do anything specifically your way. That control compromise does work. Don't shorten our names because you think they're too hard to pronounce, and don't rush us. If it's important, it will get done. And our priorities just may be different than yours. We're not lazy. We're not trying to ignore you. We're trying to balance a seriously challenging journey sometimes. So what did you think of my never should you ever game? I didn't realize that's what it was going to be when I started the video. Kind of turned out fun. I'm okay with it. And by the way, I wrote that list in about 30 seconds. If you're indigenous watching this, what would you add to the list? I'm dying to see the comments. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.